Although my time lately has been spent preparing for the the first weeks of college teaching and more importantly, making sure everything goes well for my first anniversary this weekend,  I’ve still been keeping close tabs on the situation involving the latest troubles regarding the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department. I was not surprised that the […]

My brothers and sisters in the media today are all writing about the the calls for the public safety director, Frank Straub,  to step down.  The calls to resign center around recent scandals involving the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.   Now some of you are going to say, “Abdul, you’re on that public safety advisory board […]

Here is the audio from Saturday’s news conference where Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard, Public Safety Director Frank Straub, and Police Chief Paul Ciesielski announced the demotion of IMPD command staff members Asst. Chief Darryl Pierce, Deputy Chief of Operations Ronald Hicks and Commander of Homeland Security Bureau John Conley.  Each segment is about 9-10 minutes […]

Here is the audio from today’s news conference regarding the Saturday night shootings.  I’ll have a more analytical piece for you tomorrow. Expo News Conference #1 Expo News Conference #2 Expo News Conference #3 Tanya Bell Charles Harrison Frank Straub Paul Bateman

Between Al Sharpton coming to town tonight to speak about the Brandon Johnson case and the “March for Peace” slated for tomorrow around the City-County building, I must take a moment to give credit where credit is due.  Some people in this town believe there was an injustice and so they’re stepping up and taking […]

Indianapolis Public Safety Director Frank Straub says the latest allegation of excessive force by an IMPD Officer underlines the need to continue to re-evaluate the way officers are trained and recruited. IMPD is investigating 3-year veteran Nhat Ngyuen who reportedly choked a suspect he was trying to arrest during a domestic disturbance call.    Ngyuen was […]

Here is the audio from today’s news conference concerning the allegations of police brutality and IMPD.   Public Safety Director Frank Straub and IMPD Chief Paul Ciesielski addressed the media and recommended the firing of Officer Jerry Piland for excessive force against Brandon Johnson.  There’s also reaction from the FOP.  Each segment is about 8 […]

Indianapolis Public Safety officials are unveiling a new strategy this morning in an effort to starve off a potential record homicide year (40-42 depending on how you do the math) and the perception of rising crime. The plan includes giving IMPD’s district commanders more authority to direct patrols and respond to challenges.  Police will also […]

As expected, Indianapolis City-County Councilor and IMPD Major Lincoln Plowman has resigned from both positions.  That announcement came this afternoon from Public Safety Director Frank Straub. Straub said Plowman was being investigated both internally and by the federal government, but he did not go into detail.   He also said the internal probe was ending […]